Angela said that at the beginning, they thought it was all too hard, as they had never really had to think much, but as they began to learn, their thirst for knowledge became incurable and eager students would show up, even on their days off.

That in itself was a very rewarding experience for a teacher. One thing they couldn’t understand about Angela is that she only spoke one language, one tongue. Most of them could speak at least three, including French.

Living in another culture was a learning curve for Angela too. Women do all the work, dig the gardens, carry the water, cooking, looking after the children, while the men sit around talking and not doing much at all. Mmm…. maybe not so different after all. Angela can remember seeing one such woman who had a baby strapped to her back, another toddler tied to her thigh, balancing a container of water on her head and carrying a box. At a bus stop there was a small group of men and over there, greeting is a big thing, so she had to stop, unload everything to say ‘hello’ and greet them, only to pack up everything again and be on her way, without any of them offering to help. “Gambian women are strong” Angela was told when she suggested that maybe men could carry the water, especially in the later stages of pregnancy.

One thing that Gambian men love and that is envied, are fat bottoms. Yes, that’s right, the bigger the better. So they are always covered up, doesn’t matter if the top half is not covered properly, it goes completely unnoticed, but fat bottomed girls really do make the world go around. And crying is not allowed, or getting angry. If it looks like someone is, they stop and encourage them to be happy. It’s really laid back. Angela had scheduled a meeting for a Monday and it eventually took place on Friday. Don’t worry, be happy.

Being a majority Muslim country, the women do have some sort of head wear, but only covering the hair.

If it is not a scarf it will be a wig, yes a wig to cover your hair. Alcohol is available and the Gambians are very proud of their German style beer.

Getting drunk is a real source of social embarrassment and ridicule. Angela only saw this twice.

Angela said she got way more out of the experience than she ever expected, as did John and the children and that it’s so wonderful to be home.

Graduation

Recently, Chris and Dennis Simpson travelled to Sydney to attend Fiona’s graduation from Sydney University. It was a “dream come true” for Fiona, whose lifetime ambition was to be a Veterinarian, and to achieve it with First Class Honours was testimony to lots of hard work.

At the reception following, she was also presented with the Richard Norman Sanders Prize for excellence in practical and clinical work in years 4 and 5, and that award included a fat cheque which she will direct to the purchase of two much desired textbooks.

To add to the celebrations, Kimberly Cleary, daughter of Barry and Marie, nee Simpson, another granddaughter of the late Phil, also graduated.

Fiona’s formal education was here in Grenfell, and she finished her H.S.C in 1999. From here she headed to Melbourne University to do Science, where she majored in Immunology and Microbiology. One of her many jobs whilst there, was as a Vet Nurse at the West Brunswick Veterinary Clinic. It was owned by Dr Cameron Wood, and as it turned out he is directly related to Grenfell early settler and pioneer, JB Wood, and knew more about Grenfell and its early history than Fiona! What was that about a small world? From there she applied for and got a position to do Vet Science in Sydney. For the last 3½ years, Fiona lived at the Sylvania Veterinary Hospital, and with another student, tended to after hour’s emergencies. It was a great experience for her and when she graduated was offered a permanent position. Next year she is applying to Murdoch University in WA to do her Master’s Degree, specialising in small animal surgery, particularly orthopaedic.

Australian Open

Leanne and Amanda Livingstone along with Tammy Beasley enjoyed 4 days down at the Australian Tennis Open in Melbourne. They saw Federer, Nadal, Venus Williams and Sam Stozur, just to name a few. It was the first time they have been to the Australian Open at Rod Laver Arena and they were very impressed by the great atmosphere it provided. Everyone was so very friendly and the city of Melbourne itself was a great place to get around and enjoy.

One session at the tennis saw the trio watching a match until 2 in the morning.

One night, as they were leaving the casino, a Hummer pulled up and Shane Warne stepped out. He was only too happy to have his photo taken with Amanda and have a chat.

Thought of the Week

I still don’t understand the purpose of a camera on a mobile phone. Why does anybody want a picture of my ear?